New Delhi

The Centre, in its Budget for FY23, is likely to incentivise value addition of agri commodities besides transportation, marketing and branding of such products, brokerage house Kotak Securities said in a note.

Five states set to go for Assembly polls is another reason why the agriculture sector could be in focus during the Budget.

"Committed to increasing farmers' income, the government of India can come up with various plans in Budget 2022-23 in spite of the recent withdrawal of three farm laws late last year," it said. Further, it is expected that the Centre may announce something in order to achieve self-reliance in edible oil and pulses.

"With over 65 per cent of the country's total edible oil requirement being met by imports, it's imperative to reduce dependency on foreign supply. Notably, edible oil is the third largest imported commodity in India after crude oil and gold," it added. 

Having already reduced import duties on edible oils three times in the second half of 2021, further duty cuts are unlikely, the brokerage said.

Furthermore, the Centre may announce subsidised interest rates for agriculture loans and increase in credit limits to alleviate the financial burden of farmers.

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